Colour Me Collingwood (Posted On: Monday, May 02, 2016)

Grandpa George Czerny's latest project is meant for kids,
but could be enjoyable for "big kids" too.

"Colour Me Collingwood" is a 20-page colouring booklet with
a distinct difference and it will make its debut this Wednesday, May 4, at the
McHappy Day event at McDonald's Family Restaurant on First Street.

McHappy Day is a major fundraising event which helps operate
Ronald McDonald Houses. On McHappy Day, a portion of funds from the
restaurant's sales will go to help Ronald McDonald Houses.

On that day, $1.00 from the sale of each "Colour Me
Collingwood" booklet will go to assist Ronald McDonald Houses.

"Colour Me Collingwood", which costs $5.00 per copy,
features art which shows various Collingwood scenes.

"It's local," says Czerny, a grandfather of five who loves
to promote Collingwood, his adopted hometown.

The 20 pages carry pictures of local scenes all of which
have been hand-drawn by Czerny.

"The idea is that as anybody colours these pages, they learn
a bit about different parts of Collingwood that are important to our
community," said the former newspaper publisher turned artist.

The front page of "Colour Me Collingwood" features Hull 230,
better known as the icebreaker "Sir Wilfrid Laurier", which was the last ship
built at Collingwood Shipyards before that industry closed in 1986.

Other scenes, ready to be coloured, include the Nottawasaga
Island lighthouse, the federal building in Downtown Collingwood, a waterfront
scene, Collingwood's town hall, the Collingwood library, a "Drug Abuse
Resistance Education" (D.A.R.E.) picture, a scene from the Great Northern
Exhibition fall fair, Collingwood Collegiate Institute, Jean Vanier High
School, General and Marine Hospital, an historic photo showing both the stern
of a lake freighter and the front of a steam train, the Collingwood and
District YMCA, a sidelaunching, the Collingwood fire hall, the inukshuk at
Sunset Point Park, the Collingwood Museum and the water tower.

There is room on Czerny's drawings for budding artists to
add clouds and such, as the imagination strikes.

"Colouring books are all the rage right now, for children
and adults," said Czerny, who is a former president of the Collingwood Chamber
of Commerce.

"But I think 'Colour Me Collingwood' is a one-of-a-kind
because of its emphasis on local places," said Czerny.

"What's neat is that parents, or grandparents, can take
their child, or children, to see and talk about locations shown in 'Colour Me
Collingwood'," said Czerny.

Now retired, Czerny is the author of a number of books
including "George's Georgian Bay, revisited" and "The Collingwood Shipyards".
He's now sharpening his pencil to draw other local colouring books. He notes
that the $5.00 price for "Colour Me Collingwood" does not include crayons, or
colour pencils. Any mail orders in Canada require that $3.00 be added to the
price, for a total of $8.00, in order to accommodate shipping and handling.